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The Effect Of Coloured Light On The Human Body
Artists and interior architects have long understood that colours can affect our feelings, emotions and mood. This is why the rooms in a hospital are often green – green calms and reduces stress. Other colours such as red, orange, yellow, blue, etc., have a different effect on the body. Chromotherapy, a.k.a. colour therapy studies these effects.

Chromotherapy or colour therapy is based on the premise that colours and light can be used to correct physical ailments. Depending on the location and nature of the ailment a specific colour may ease it.
One of the first scientists to consider the effect of colours was August Pleasonton. In 1876 he published ‘The Influence of the Blue Ray of Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky’ in which he studied how blue can stimulate the growth of plants and cattle. He also mentioned that this colour can help make the human body better. This book introduced chromotherapy into modern medicine.
Colour therapy should not be confused with light therapy. In light therapy a person is exposed to a bright white light over a certain time. Light therapy is often used to treat skin diseases (more specifically psoriasis), sleep disorders and certain psychic problems.
Colours and their meaning
Studies have shown that people are able to distinguish approximately 10 million colours. These colours can be broken down into three primary colours: yellow, red and blue. Usually in chromotherapy, the secondary colours are added, more specifically orange, purple and green. Each of these colours has a certain meaning:
Red – The libido booster
Red is a warm colour linked to the kidneys, backbone and sense of smell. This colour gives more energy and is ideal for people who are often over-tired. Active people can use red light therapy to combat muscle and joint stiffness. And finally it also boosts sexual desires.
Yellow – The depression killer
People with a difficult digestion can treat this with yellow light. This colour is associated with the stomach, liver and intestines. People with a depression could also benefit from yellow colour therapy.
Blue – The bringer of peace
Blue is the counterpart of red. It can be used to lower high blood pressure or calm people down. Blue light can also help in the treatment of migraine. Your throat, ears and mouth are linked to this colour.
Green – The strength provider
Green is the colour of nature. Green light therapy stimulates the creation of growth hormones and strengthens muscles, bones and other tissues. It can also boost your body’s immune system.
Purple – The Nightcap
Purple light can help you fall asleep. It also reduces emotional and mental stress. The nervous system and eyes are linked with this secondary colour. Contrary to red light, purple light decreases sexual desires.
Orange – The creativity source
Does your job demand a lot of creativity? Then orange can help. Orange stimulates the creative thought process and helps you come up with new ideas. This colour is linked to breathing. Breastfeeding women could benefit from orange light because it stimulates the production of breast milk.
Coloured lighting cannot only create a certain atmosphere, it also affects our body.
Source: dmlights

Firestone Walker Brewing Company is a craft brewery based in Paso Robles, California. The brewery has experienced significant success, gaining recognition with a number of international awards for its beers. And it now operates three facilities – the others located in Buellton and Venice.

In fact the brewery’s growth has required the addition of a new 10,000 sq. ft. brew house at its Paso Robles headquarters in order to meet the steep increase in demand for its products.
Harris Architecture was mandated to design the new space with the goal of increasing production capacity. As well as being a fully functional brewery, the Paso Robles location also offers tours to visitors, and after an 8-month construction period, the new addition was opened to the public in May, 2017.
“The whole space has a turn of the century iron works style,” said Kyle Harris, who led the project for Harris Architecture. “There is a lot of galvanized metal and exposed bolts combined with tiling and concrete floors. It’s retro with a tech edge.”
The team from Harris worked closely with the Firestone Walker founders to ensure that every element of the new space was on point from a design and usability perspective. Everyone involved in the project was very conscious of choosing the right pieces to present the facility as the iconic, signature location in the Firestone Walker family of facilities.
Lighting the space was an important piece of the design. The lighting had to be functional as well as fitting aesthetically with the design intent of the space.
In collaboration with Prudential Lighting Products, the Harris team identified Luminis products as the perfect solution. Luminis’ Torx and Aramis products were chosen. Twelve Torx TR2450 pendants were selected to illuminate the brew deck. The Torx TR2450 products are decorative and functional ceiling pendants with a frosted acrylic refractor and an LED light source. Delivering more than 12,000 lumens per product, the pendants are ideal for areas where efficiency, reliability and aesthetics are important. To carry the aesthetic throughout the facility, two more Torx TR2450 pendants have been included in the visitor center.
Four Aramis AR148 pendants were used for additional illumination, while thirteen wall-mounted Aramis AR148 luminaires are positioned around the perimeter of the room. Most of the Aramis AR148 wall mounted sconces are in pairs – one as an uplight, and one as a downlight in each pair – providing a striking accent. The 6” cylindrical luminaires have an LED light source and deliver 2,050 lumens.
“Functionality and performance were key requirements in the lighting product selection,” said Harris. “The Torx and Aramis products from Luminis not only delivered on those requirements but also perfectly fit the industrial aesthetic in the rest of the building.”
Outside of the building, Harris chose Luminis’ Syrios SY602 products, complete with LED light source and unique integral tilting mechanism for precise directional aiming. Used primarily to illuminate the Firestone Walker signage and accent the curved roof, the products really catch the eye.
Finally, Eclipse Mini EC612 products illuminate the exterior of the main entrance providing the complete lighting experience from outside to inside – a testament to the wide array of interior and exterior products offered by Luminis. The Eclipse Mini EC612 models, durable and designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, are mounted to the wall either side of the front door and on the columns supporting the covered entry.
All of the interior lighting is on a dimming channel, enabling adjustment depending on the time of day. During the night, brew house lighting is turned up to deliver 100 foot candles of light at floor level to assist with nightly cleaning. In the daytime, the lighting is scaled back to deliver 45-55 foot candles at floor level for standard use.
“We did extensive calculations and modelling to make sure the lighting would be at the right level, and that we got the light in the places it was needed,” said Harris. “Inside the brew house the lighting hits the metal and the stainless steel brew tanks, and the results are striking.”
The reaction of the client has also been positive. Firestone Walker Co-Founder David Walker said: “The lighting is industrial, beautiful and functional; not an easy combination to achieve when lighting a modern brew house – it is elegantly done.”
Source: luminis

Correctional Facility LED Lighting
Correctional facilities place a high priority on safety, security, and operational efficiency. LED lighting systems, can help meet or exceed performance standards in all three of these areas. Due to the instant-on and dimming capabilities of LED systems, new control methods are now practical and promise to allow even greater performance.

The 5 Biggest Myths in LED Lighting
In their early stages, most new technologies are the subjects of myths that are either exaggerations or inaccuracies, if they are not altogether incorrect. LED lighting has been the subject of many myths since the first installations of LED systems appeared several years ago. Many of those myths denigrated LED lighting on the basis of cost and performance. As LED technology has improved, early-stage problems have disappeared but the myths have remained. Rather than falling prey to those myths, organizations that are considering LED lighting for their own operations should base their decisions on objective facts about modern LED lighting systems.

Myth: LED lighting is expensive.
Fact: As with many new technologies, the first generations of LED lighting systems were costlier than traditional metal halide or high-pressure sodium alternatives. Upfront acquisition and installation costs have since fallen dramatically and LED retrofits or new installations can now be completed at competitive price points to those traditional systems. Moreover, LED lighting generates the same or better illumination with substantially lower power input. Upfront system costs are usually recovered very quickly from utility cost savings alone.
Myth: Light from LED bulbs is too harsh or bright.
Fact: New LED bulbs and control systems give operators much more flexibility to alter the color temperature and color coordinated index (“CCI”) of LED illumination to tone down the perceived harshness that might have plagued earlier LED systems. Modern fixtures and lenses also help to disperse lighting and to reduce glare from brighter bulbs.
Myth: All LED bulbs are identical.
Fact: LED bulbs include more complex technology than incandescent or fluorescent fixtures. Quality LED manufacturers push that technology to produce better and longer-lasting products that incorporate features such as advanced thermal control and more stable electronics. Some LED systems might cost less than others, but those lower-cost systems might not have the newest technology that creates improved lighting performance.
Myth: LED lamps never need to be replaced.
Fact: LED’s last substantially longer than traditional lighting fixtures, but the will need to be replaced at some point. On average, LED bulbs will perform above a minimum illumination level for 50,000 hours. Many continue to generate light beyond this average lifespan, but their total light output will be lower than when they were first brought into service. Facilities that install LED lighting systems will continue to need to plan for maintenance and replacement, but those needs will be substantially reduced in comparison to traditional lighting.
Myth: LED lighting is bad for your health.
Fact: Doctors’ groups did criticize early generations of LED light that had high concentrations of blue-wavelength lighting. Lighting in that wavelength tends to keep people alert and to interfere with circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. Newer LED systems have controls that allow operators to reduce blue wavelengths in favor of more calming orange or yellow lighting. Therefore the early criticisms are no longer as valid.
Myth: LEDs have sub-par color rendering index properties
Fact: Incandescents have a perfect color rendering index (CRI) of 100, so when alternative energy-saving lighting solutions like fluorescents came to the market, people were disappointed in the quality of the light. And rightly so. Many compact fluorescents have a low CRI of 50. Most LEDs have a solid CRI of 80, with High CRI options available when color rendering is very important (like in restaurants, retail stores, galleries, etc). Our LED MR16, for example, has an incredible High CRI option of 95, so colors appear as vibrant to the eye as under broad daylight.
Source: specgradeled

The refurbishment of this key building in Victoria involved the relighting of the main office floors with low energy lighting and the creation of an impressive new entry experience.
A special canopy feature was developed with integrated lighting built-in to visually link the interior spaces to the external streetscape. A series of canter-lever arms extend through the interior lobby and are brought together to form a canopy at the entry point on the streetscape. Adjustable lighting offers the facility for varying coloured presentations. Whilst a set colour balance is used at most times in a static mode, for special occasions the colours, tone and brightness can be set to different levels.
The lighting controls utilise the DMX protocol which in this project is on a wireless network, due to the complex nature of the building and the tight voids which precluded traditional cable ways to be threaded through the structure.
Source: ndylight

On October 13, 2016, Boston mayor, Martin J. Walsh unveiled the new LED-based architectural lighting of Boston City Hall. The lighting debut was during this year’s final Beer Garden on the Bricks event, themed “Light Bright Beer Garden.” The city intends the new LED lighting to highlight and enhance the building’s original design and increase public safety. The exterior lighting installation is one among several ongoing initiatives to highlight City Hall and City Hall Plaza and make them more inviting for residents.

“I am proud that for the first time in its 48 year history, Boston City Hall is going to shine,” said Mayor Walsh. “This state of the art lighting system will help make City Hall the civic heart of our city by livening up the plaza, while making the area safer and connecting us to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. Bringing new light to City Hall is symbolic of a more responsive vision here at City Hall, one that is meant to be engaging, inspiring, and serve as a beacon of the city and our values.”
New LED fixtures replaced the original Metal Halide exterior recessed lighting and the existing floodlights that illuminate the building’s lower levels and accentuate the entrances. The new fixtures cover the building in a warm white light, and they can produce a broad range of colors. Such color options can allow the City to light the building to acknowledge a variety of celebratory and public events.
The mayor lit the building blue to recognize the police officers injured in East Boston, and as a further demonstration of its light changing capability, the mayor changed the color to pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The pink lights at city hall added to pink lighting of numerous buildings and landmarks around the city.
The lighting highlights the original three-part design of City Hall. The lower levels house the public spaces of the building. The symbolic spaces including the middle sections hold the offices of the Mayor and the City Council, and the administrative spaces crown the building and house the administrative functions of government.
According to the city, the new exterior lighting improves security lighting. The city says that the system allows for the floodlights and associated conduit added to the building over the years to be entirely removed.
“By illuminating its iconic and bold form, City Hall’s interaction with Boston’s urban fabric may be reinvigorated,” said David Eisen FAIA, Boston Society of Architects/AIA (BSA) Vice President for Communications. “It’s a decisive step toward transforming one of the most internationally renowned buildings that make up our distinct architectural heritage.”
The new fixtures are more energy efficient than the Metal Halide fixtures and the existing Flood Lights that they replace. The LED lighting is expected to save the city about 300,000 kWh of electricity annually compared to the replaced lights. The LED technology has a projected 20-year lifespan compared to the 4-year life of the metal halide lights that the LED system replaces. The City expects additional savings from the cost of maintenance and light replacement.
Arcade lights have also been retrofitted with LED lighting to complement the new City Hall lighting. The same controller will be able to operate and coordinate both the arcade lights and the City Hall lights.
“It is wonderful that the City is taking this opportunity to recreate its own home place – City Hall – as the keystone and central event in an ongoing pursuit of improved illumination for our city,” said Todd Lee, President of LIGHT Boston.
Based on materials from boston.gov

An appreciative whoop went up from the crowd gathered Thursday night as the switch was flipped on the latest light installation by San Antonio artist Bill FitzGibbons.
From a vantage point on the 21st floor of the Frost Bank Tower, members of the arts community and city officials watched as “Kinetic Skyline” illuminated the Bank of America Plaza with a display of blue and green light.

“I’m really over the moon about this project because with this tremendous support from the owners of the building we were able to realize one of the largest light sculptures in the state of Texas,” FitzGibbons said.
Located at 300 Convent Street near the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, the 28-story Bank of America Plaza is one of the tallest buildings downtown.
“It’s got all these stair step bays that go up along the side of the building, and so I thought that that would be really an interesting approach to go in there and emphasize those bays, which you visually can’t really see from a distance,” FitzGibbons said earlier.
Created with computerized LED lights, the effect of the installation is of a series of eight columns climbing up facades on the north and south sides of the building. FitzGibbons also created programs for holiday displays. Thursday night, he demonstrated the schemes for the Fourth of July and Fiesta.
The Bank of America Plaza is owned by Houston-based Griffin Partners and New York-based Clarion Partners. It is currently undergoing capital improvements.
“The building has had exterior lighting on it, I guess, since it was built,” said Lee Moreland, executive vice president of Griffin Partners. “It’s basically a dull, amber-colored lighting that we knew would need to be replaced, but not until the introduction to Bill did we contemplate that it could be something much more.”
FitzGibbons has created several light-based public artworks around the country. In San Antonio, they include “Centro Chroma Tower” at VIA’s Centro Plaza; “San Antonio Colorline” at the University Health Center-Downtown Brady Green Clinic; “Light Channels,” beneath the underpasses at Commerce and Houston streets; and “Day Star Archway” at the San Antonio International Airport.
He has received videos of bands performing and photos taken at the underpasses transformed by the installations.
“To me, that’s the magic and power of public art,” he said. “You can see that throughout the city where you go in and you do a public art piece like the Sebastian piece down by the Alamo or (Donald) Lipski’s internally lit fish hanging from the underpass on the Museum Reach or the George Schroeder sculptural wall that’s at the county courthouse downtown,” FitzGibbons said. “These projects really enliven our built environment and create a magic that contributes to the quality of life of urban living.”
Video:http://www.billfitzgibbons.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/MAH04174.mp4?_=1
http://www.billfitzgibbons.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MAH04351.mp4